The Computational Legal Studies (CLS) blog has taken the NEFA Foundation’s database of Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, better known as the Underwear Bomber, online activity between 2005 and 2007 and created an interesting visualization of his social network and interactions during the period leading up to his failed attack.
So what does this add to the understanding of the man who attempted to take down Northwest Airlines flight 253? For starters, Farouk1986 appeared to have joined an existing online network that moved his life in a more religious direction. Once he joined that network, his online interactions became more stable. Put otherwise, it may reflect the tendency of online behavior to become a “feedback loop.” Instead of expanding his apparent network of contacts, it became more exclusive and self-reinforcing.
See the video of the visualization after the break.
via Visualizing the Underwear Bomber’s Online Life | Danger Room | Wired.com.
Visualizing the Gawaher Interactions of Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the Christmas Day Bomber from Computational Legal Studies on Vimeo.
